Apples Become Cucumbers
by Xerxes Glace Hydro
Summary: So, I've decided to cure my Writer's Block by doing an ABC challenge sort of thing, slightly hence the title. No, not all of the drabbles will be focused around Jack this time. And, there will occasionally be crossovers. Like the first drabble. It's a crossover. They'll mostly be 5Ds though. Ratings will vary between drabbles. First one is T, focusing around "Pseudo-Jack".
1. Amnesia

**Hey look, a thing. The thing is also the start of an ABC challenge thing. It's also a crossover. Have fun.**

**Amnesia**

He was alone, in total solitude, with no accompaniment but a dim oil lamp, the handle creaking as it swayed in his hands. Shadows of full armor suits stalked him, thirsty for blood, hungry for his flesh. Yet they never came. Down, down the eerie hallways he stumbled, mumbling quietly to himself as he occasionally stopped to examine messages on the walls.

_Daniel, open the door to your right!_

_Daniel, there's oil for your lamp in the closet!_

_It's coming closer, Daniel!_

_Look out, Daniel, it's right behind you!_

Only half of the time were these actually meaningful. While the door to the right led to a room with a key necessary to advance through the castle, the closet only contained a dead body, and the warnings only made him more tense.

What is going on, you might ask? A game, they might answer. A sick, twisted, malicious game that Jack himself devised.

The group of friends - Yuusei Fudo, Jack Atlas, Akiza Izinski, Crow Hogan, Bruno, Luna and Leo, Carly Carmine, Kalin Kessler, and the psychotic android pseudo Jack in which Bruno and Yuusei took the liberty of rebuilding, whom Jack promptly named Daniel Atlas - had ventured out into what was formerly 1839 Prussia, in search of their game's location: Brennenburg Castle. The dectet entered the formidable building and scattered throughout the corridors, as their blonde friend had said to do.

"Now, each of you take a list of rules, a vial, a notebook for you to use, and a lantern, and go to the room at the bottom of your list," Jack had told everyone before they left. "At midnight tonight, everyone is to drink the contents of their vial, and then the game shall commence. I am not required to do this, as I am the game master and the MacGuffin. The first one to find me wins. I wish you all good luck, and be wary of your surroundings. It would be no good if someone were to get hurt!"

Daniel had apparently fallen unconscious at some point - a point that he could not recall - and had awoken in a "rainy" hall. He was at first puzzled by his surroundings, as well as the items in his possession. He had no idea why there were notes on the table, or an oil lamp, or why a small crystal vial rested in his palm. Pink liquid was splattered on the carpet, and the time read 3:29 AM. And, it was unbearably dark. After recovering from an intense dizzy spell, the android stood weakly and staggered over to the table, examining the items on its surface.

Upon opening the notebook, Daniel had discovered that the first several pages consisted of information about himself, tidbits on everyone else involved in the game (including sketches of them, too), and how and why they were all here. It was clear that Jack had done an immense amount of planning for this activity. The lamp had some oil in it, but would need refilling soon after it was turned on. It would be good for a little while, at least. Lastly, the list of rules had two sides: one was instructions for preparing for the game, the other were the actual rules and objectives.

The first side of the memo:

"1. Find and enter the corridor noted at the bottom of this page.

2. Set your things down in a place that you will easily find them.

3. Stand or sit somewhere slightly secluded, so they won't find you.

4. Drink the tonic that I have provided you; I advise that you sit whilst doing this, as you will become very dizzy after taking it.

Your corridor is the Rainy Hall on the map in the front area, so named because of its leaking roof.

-Jack"

It was never clarified in the notebook nor the memo as to what 'they' were. Daniel worried about his friends, and the way in which they had discovered what 'they' referred to.

The opposite side read:

"Now that you have woken up, here are the rules for this game (read the notebook first!):

1. You may use items that you find around the castle.

2. You may not use items from other players.

3. You may not break open any doors; if a door is locked, then you must find the key.

4. While it's not really a rule, I highly advise that you be very aware of the things around you.

5. The first player to find me wins the game, and we can all go home.

6. Have fun!

-Jack"

The mentioning of being "highly aware of the things around you", and the fact that everyone goes home once someone finds the game master sent chills up Daniel's spine when he had first read the memo. But, he wanted to leave as soon as possible, for the castle looked very unstable, and everything was much too quiet. So, he exited the Rainy Hall, and began to play Jack's game, an event that would soon come into light as the most hellish thing ever to be created.

Heavy footsteps trudged across the carpet somewhere behind the blonde android. He whipped around without so much as a gasp, his scarlet eyes scanning the area, turning off his lamp and stepping into the shadows near him. He squeaked as something slimy and fleshy touched the bare skin on his neck, and he moved forward once more.

The footsteps grew louder, echoing in Daniel's ears. His artificial heart thumped loudly from his panic, the gears in his head whirring, fueled by confusion and paranoia. His breathing grew quick, and raspy. A throaty growl sounded somewhere on the other side of the hallway. Then the blare of a chainsaw. An inhuman shriek and the snapping of bones.

Yuusei's form suddenly flew across the hall, a pale, mangled arm halfway down his throat.

It wasn't the arm that made Daniel gasp, for the notebook had mentioned that Yuusei could occasionally be rather voracious, so that particular sight didn't surprise him. Because of the fact that the notebook also said something about Yuusei's stubbornness, he also wasn't surprised that the raven-haired man managed to swallow the rest of the arm, and weakly stand, his stomach distending slightly underneath his shirt. He bared fang-like teeth, and growled again, blood dripping from his lips.

A horrific creature stumbled after him only moments later. It's lower jaw was nonexistent, a gaping hole and loose, hanging gum making up most of its face. It had no hair anywhere about it, and it was missing an arm. It's left arm was still present, the hand nothing but a stub, with blade-like claws protruding from it. It charged at Yuusei, rage filling its mostly blank eyes, swinging its remaining limb wildly. While the man dodged the full brunt of the attack, he was still knocked back, and left in a daze. The monster charged again, so as to take advantage of the duelist's sluggishness, and sliced his neck in two with ease. Daniel screamed, amazed at how easily Yuusei went down, and horrified by the entire scenario.

The creature turned, and stepped toward him. It wasted no time plunging its claws into his mechanical chest, severing several wires, and tearing his fake heart. It was awesome how powerful the monster was. Daniel's legs crumpled underneath him, as he took one last glance at Yuusei's limp body, and the man's head, which had rolled to his feet.

The decapitated skull, blood spurting profusely out of its stump, was the last thing Daniel ever saw.

\(-{:*:}-)/

**I don't have much to say, except that this sucked, but it was fun to write. For those of you who may be wondering, yes, I did name Daniel Atlas after Daniel from **_**Amnesia - The Dark Descent**_**. Read and review, please.**


	2. Beta

**Second drabble thing. Enjoy. Oh, and don't ask about Yuusei from the first one; he's almost always OOC in my fics. Beware.**

**Rating: K+**

**Character: Bruno**

**Beta**

"Bruno!"

The mechanic tightened a few screws, without a reply.

"Bruno!" Yuusei called again. "Are you there? Hello?"

The bluenette sighed, and turned to face the raven-haired man. Unsurprisingly, he was holding several machine parts in his arms, a slightly irked expression on his face.

"This should be the last of them," Yuusei muttered as he laid the parts on the floor. Bruno paused a moment before speaking.

"Why so angry, Yuusei?" he asked. "It's not like you."

"You know fully well," the man responded, "that I hate this thing, and I hate it even more that we have to rebuild it for Mina. She's really nice, hasn't done anything wrong, but..."

"Yeah, I get it," Bruno cut in. "At least he'll be out of our hands once we get him working again."

"It, not him."

The gray-eyed mechanic inwardly shuddered at the remark. The words alone stung him, and his friend's tone only made it worse. He chose not to retort. As he almost expected, Yuusei sighed, murmured something about how they'd be done soon enough, and walked away.

_Who are you?_ Bruno wondered.

\(-{:*:}-)/

"What's that?" Yuusei inquired, peering over Bruno's shoulder.

The mechanic sat up straight, but continued to type various codes and program-related things.

"I'm rewriting the robot's memory chip," he replied. "It's not as complicated as some of the others we've experimented with. It looks like it's just a prototype; a beta chip."

"So, there were originally going to be more of these things?" the head signer almost gasped.

"Looks like it."

Bruno frowned at his own statement. "You know, it's almost a shame that this was only a beta design."

Yuusei raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Well, the design is, while simple, almost magnificent," the bluenette clarified. "He was with few flaws, considering he was programmed to imitate Jack while he was still King. But..."

"But what?"

"It's a shame that he's only a beta," Bruno continued softly. "He was to be discarded once Jack was gone. The final versions would be something different, as well as significantly better, so there would be no need to get rid of them once their job was done."

"So?" Yuusei hissed. "It tried to _kill_ us."

"Because that was his purpose at the time."

"What's your point, then?"

A moment of silence hung between the two.

"Well?"

Still no answer. Bruno had stopped typing. Yuusei rolled his eyes and turned to exit.

"I..."

The cobalt-eyed duelist stopped.

"I feel as though I'm doing him a favor. Giving him another chance."

The mechanic heard the raven-haired man scoff, and leave. He lowered his head, and sighed. He could understand why Yuusei was so annoyed, but really, he could - should - get over it at this point. He began rewriting lines of code, and continued into the late hours of the night. Occasionally, he glanced at the repaired android beside him, and he could hardly wait to give him life once more.

_Perhaps, then,_ Bruno thought, _I'll figure out who you really are._

\(-{:*:}-)/

**Inspired by the sidequest in **_**Over the Nexus**_** where you actually get to rebuild Pseudo-Jack. This drabble was also a lot of fun. Definitely not as long as the first, but still okay, I think. Please review. Also, please don't put suggestions for any of the drabbles, as I already know what I'm doing for each. For example: X is focused on an OC. Dancing, you know which one.**


	3. Cucumbers

**Drabble three. How fun.**

**Rating: T**

**Character: Jack**

**Cucumbers**

A small blonde boy, carefully balanced on a chair, stared into a clear pitcher of water. He observed as Martha dropped vegetable slices into the pitcher; watched as they drifted to the bottom of the crystal container. While they didn't have much in Satellite, it was certainly a nice pitcher. Martha stirred the water with a wooden spoon, and exited, leaving the boy standing precariously on the chair. Moments afterward, two more boys entered the kitchen, one walking up to the table in which the pitcher sat, the other lingering by the doorway.

"Wha'cha doing, Jack?" the first boy asked, climbing onto the table and poking the crystal with his fingernail.

"Nothing, Yuusei," Jack replied, "just waiting."

"For what?" the second boy sneered. "Those green things gonna grow or something?"

"They're cucumbers, Crow," the violet-eyed youth responded, although his attention was focused more on the fluid in the glass rather than the redhead at the door. "and they don't grow once cut from the stem."

"Oh, so it's a food!" Crow exclaimed. "Looks gross!"

"They're sweet," Jack murmured.

Yuusei frowned. "Martha's making cucumber water again, isn't she? I don't understand how anyone can like that stuff."

"It's a matter of taste..."

"Whatever," Yuusei huffed. "Why are you staring at it, though?"

"Don't ask things like that," Crow sniggered. "It's because he's weird. Like, real weird. You and I know that."

Jack wasn't listening at this point, half because he could hardly care, half because the distorted reflections of the cucumbers were much more interesting than the boys jeering him.

"Oh, he's doing that art thing again, isn't he?" Yuusei grinned. "You're so queer, Jack! You call staring at things for hours 'studying'. It's funny."

"Yuusei, Crow! Stop teasing Jack!" Martha called from another room in the orphanage. "He can't help that looking at objects and observing their properties is more entertaining to him than Duel Monsters. Now why don't you two go play with the others and leave Jack alone?"

The two boys in question sighed. "Yes Martha," they mumbled. Crow left the kitchen, muttering more about how the blonde was different, and didn't belong. Yuusei followed shortly.

"Queer, queer boy," he snickered as he passed. He paused, stopping next to Jack, who was completely oblivious to the raven-haired child. A smirk spread across the cobalt-eyed youth's face.

"You're so queer!" he hissed, shoving the chair out from underneath Jack's feet. The blonde lost his balance and first fell forward, splitting his forehead open on the sharp edge of the wooden table, blood splattering on the clean surface. He then fell backwards from the shock, hitting the back of his head on the tile floor. All while Yuusei darted after Crow, poorly containing his laughter.

Jack did not make a sound. His eyes were squinted shut, trying to block out the pain, but he did not cry. He gasped every few seconds from the agony, but laid on the floor, a small scarlet puddle forming around his head, his hair dyed almost entirely crimson. And he laid there, for several minutes, before finally forcing himself to stand. The boy pulled the chair back up to the table, and stood on it once again. He stirred the water with the wooden spoon, as Martha had done, and poured himself a cup. A couple droplets of blood splattered onto the spoon's handle, and on the edge of the pitcher, but Jack didn't seem to care. He maneuvered his way back onto the floor, not bothering to clean up the red stain on the edge of the table, or the puddle on the floor. He grabbed his cup, and stumbled up the stairs, leaving a trail of blood where he walked. Staggering into his room, locking the door behind him, he set the glass on his nightstand, and crawled into his hard, cold bed, clutching a broken doll near his chest as if he would die were he to let go.

It was here that he silently cried himself to sleep; in solitude, the enigmatic shapes of the cucumbers' reflections void of his mind.

\(-{:*:}-)/

**I am so terribly cruel. Please review. Seriously, tell me how I did. Next update will be on Friday.**


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